Here's some PC help!

SOME TIPS FOR A FRIENDLIER PC

Copyright 2009 By Jack Kenneth Bragen

Jack Bragen

I have run into individuals in all walks of life who find their computer to be a source of frustration. While there are those who find computers to be second nature and who naturally acclimate to their usage, there are also those who find themselves “blocked” and who need a little assistance to get going. It’s not a sign of less smarts if you don’t find computers easy. I have met numerous people with very high I.Q. levels for whom computer use just doesn’t come naturally. With that in mind, this article offers a few pointers that might help you get better use of your unit.
Keep your anti virus software updated, and scan your hard drive with it frequently. Your anti virus software doesn’t do anything unless it is being used. Updating of the anti virus software includes the downloading of “virus definitions” which tell the computer what viruses to look out for. It also includes the downloading of updates to the software that improve its ability to knock out the newest viruses that are resistant to the previous versions of software. “Tracking cookies” allow others to track where you’ve been and slow down the computer, but they generally pose little or not threat to the computer’s integrity. It is good to clean them up periodically. However, “Trojans” “Worms” and “Viruses” are all terms that refer to a strong threat to your computer. These threats are also contagious, and can be spread to other people’s units.
Your data recorded on your computer is far more valuable than the computer itself! You should periodically back up all of the important data on your unit onto recordable CD’s or DVD’s. Windows Visa comes with backup software, and you are better off if you take advantage of it. If you do not have backup software, you can learn to manually transfer your documents from where they are stored onto the data bank that is to be burned onto the disk. In the disk burning software, there is generally a “wizard” that will allow you to drag and drop documents into a window that shows what is to be recorded onto the CD or DVD. Most computers nowadays are capable of burning either CD’s, DVD’s, or both. You might not know whether or not your computer can do this. As a last resort, Word and some Excel documents are small enough that they can be transferred onto floppies. However, for photos and videos, one floppy might or might not be able to accommodate just one.
“Spam Filtering” done by your Internet service provider can exclude some of the emails that you should and want to receive, and not just the Spam’s. Some of the spam can also leak through the spam filer, as well. This is due to the fact that it is a computer on the other end that tries to recognize what is the spam and what isn’t. Computers do not have the power to judge. They [the spam filtering computers] are taught to look for specific characteristics that the software designer believes will indicate a spam. You may not know that emails are getting deleted unless you check with those people who may be sending you the emails. To check on this, you can also refer to the “settings” section of the webmail stage of your email. By “webmail” I mean that there is generally a webpage available that is at a stage prior to where the mail is downloaded into Outlook, Outlook Express, Thunderbird, or other email “clients” that you might be using. You can find out the web address of this “webmail” page by asking your internet service provider.
FYI: you can change the “wallpaper” shown on your computer screen by “right-clicking” on an unused portion of the screen and choosing “customize,” or “properties” in earlier versions of windows. From the menu that comes up, you can choose a number of pictures that are already stored in Windows. If you feel ambitious, you can learn to put a digital photo or a scanned picture onto your screen.
The “cancel” button is your friend. If you are unsure of what you are about to do or of what the computer is asking you to do, often the safest option is to hit “cancel.” Cancel will stop a specific pending action that your computer is ready to take. In some instances, such as in Word, “cancel” will stop you from closing the document you are working on. In this scenario, you want to be certain that the document appears in exactly the form that you want it “saved” in before you close the document. If you have just accidentally deleted a bunch of text, you can click on the “don’t save” button in order to revert back to the previous time in which the document was saved. If the computer is asking you to do something that you disagree with, or that you’re not yet ready to do, sometimes the cancel button comes in handy.
If you are ready to purchase a flat panel monitor, don’t hesitate. They are better for your health than the older “CRT” monitors because they don’t produce the X-rays and Gamma rays, and the low-frequency RF radiation that come from a picture tube. They save energy, they don’t collect as much dust internally, [high voltages used to power a CRT attract dust], they don’t break down as often, they have a better picture, and they are less likely to start a fire of there is a “short circuit.” They also produce less hazardous waste when they are to be disposed of. Flat panel monitors have come down in price. FRY’s sells several models for under $200.
Last but not least: If you don’t want something known by members of the public, don’t enter it onto your computer. Files can be accessed via internet spying, and there is no absolute way to prevent this. If you want your personal information spread everywhere, including other countries, post it on the Internet.